January 25, 2014– BEIJING – China’s military has released images of an intercontinental ballistic missile with enough range to reach the United States, as Beijing is involved in a series of rows threatening to embroil Washington. The pictures of Chinese soldiers test-firing a Dongfeng-31 missile, which is said by experts to be able to carry nuclear warheads 8,000 kilometers (4,960 miles), appeared in the People’s Liberation Army Daily newspaper on Tuesday. Further images showing soldiers dressed in protective suits, suggesting that the drill was simulating the launch of an armed warhead, were also posted on the sohu.com news portal, attributed to the newspaper. Sohu.com said it was the first time that images of such an exercise had been released. The images could not be found on the PLA Daily’s website when checked by AFP on Thursday. China is embroiled in a series of territorial disputes with its neighbors in the South China Sea, and is locked in a row with Japan in the East China Sea over islands administered by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing. The U.S. has a security alliance with Japan and Vice President Joe Biden said last month that a strategic shift to Asia would continue. –SW

Military build-up continues: Visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met Thursday with senior Chinese officials amid mounting tension between Beijing and Washington over China’s increasingly public displays of military might in the region. As Burns arrived in Beijing earlier this week, China’s army showed off the first-ever images of its advanced Dongfeng-31 intercontinental ballistic missile being tested. Published Tuesday on a website affiliated with People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the photos show soldiers preparing and test launching the missiles, which put China’s nuclear warheads in range of the U.S. West Coast and most European capitals. “Seeing this photo, Americans will of course take it as a sign of more remarkable military threat,” Shi Yinhong, a professor of International Relations and director of the Centre on American Studies at China’s Renmin University told CBS News. “But China is determined and will continue its military buildup despite the fact that America is discontent.” –CBS

You would think we’re far enough away we, the United States, wouldn’t have to worry about such thing. What are they expecting? What are they planning on? What is the motivation for such planning and build up?

China is sending a message. If you remember several years ago, the person who occupies the office of the presidency, spoke about the reassignment of certain US military assets to the pacific area.

China is getting ready to make a military move…………be warned.
Also, China holds most of the US debt………….Consider this……..if they were to dump our Treasuries, the US would be a third world country over night and broke………….and in a depression……..

Leading from behind has failed and placed millions of lives at risk…….in this country……

Hi Dennis E. I think your opinion has much merit; especially if the USA keeps sticking it’s nose into every other country’s little glitch with any other country or even within it’s own borders. I think that’s why so many countries consider the USA to be no more than a big bad bully and China is showing that they OWN the USA and they will offer war if the bully don’t back off. In other words let’s stick our fingers in our ears, close our eyes and duck!

You are totally correct> China is simply telling the US not to think it can beard the lion in its own den, or maybe in this case the dragon. There is a very good reason why the body of water in contention currently was named the South CHINA Sea. So America, butt out before you get a bloody nose or worse!

This kind of information should lead American foreign policy planners to accommodate a new paradigm. No longer is the US the sole superpower. It now has two other major militaries to contend with, China and Russia. Both nations need to be brought into a new alliance of military powers. The US will suffer greatly, if it continues its foolish and ultimately impossible task of being the self empowered only superpower. Only the US believes it is the sole superpower. Other nations including both Russia and China do not. Who is right? Do you really want to find out?

The latest remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about China and Japan being in a “similar situation” to that of Britain and Germany ahead of World War One have exacerbated an already tense situation.

Abe, who was speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, also said that China’s rocketing investment in military spending was a source of instability in the region.

His hawkish words were picked up by renowned economist Nouriel Roubini, who forecast the collapse of the US housing market and the worldwide recession which started in 2008.

When it is worth sacrificing the pawn, you sacrifice the pawn. Will the Chinese pay their investors in 2-3 days time? It is a worry. Chinese are used to Communism for so long, and is at war with capitalism. Make any sense? The question to ask is what are the real weapons of this war?

This , I believe, is why the USA wants to avoid default at any cost…If China cannot get any more funds [ power ] from the USA because of default on loans then the USA is almost worthless to them except to takeover and it seems like they may be in collusion with other countries that feel similar towards the USA. Like some prophecies that have been made over the years, China would attack but with help from Russia and North Korea and possibly Iran. China gets USA, NK gets to say, ” Nyaa Nyaa, told you I could blow you up! ” Russia gets more control over Europe and Iran sizes up Israel because our hands will be tied with the rest of the battles across the globe.

I’m afraid you are on the wrong track with this comment. It is the US that is in the South CHINA Sea not China that is in American waters or anywhere near them. Therefore it is the US threatening China not China threatening the US. In fact it is always the US threatening some other nation not the other way around.

I agree with you archie1954 but with the facts that you write is WHY what I wrote will eventually take place. I did not write that China was in USA waters nor that they were threatening us. I simply wrote that because of USA policies that if the USA would default THEN China and other countries would join together to move us out of the way; Partly because of just what you wrote regarding the USA again determining who the USA wants to have control of the South China sea, and there are other similar actions the USA government takes to try to control the world.

The problem is the US thinks it can do what it likes .In words it seeks China’s friendship.The PLA aint that naïve and will continue to modernise and though the US can prevail,it can do so
over a dead China with enormous cost.
The immunity and scacrosant status of the CONUS cannot be enjoyed anymore. The PLA will make absolutely sure any conventional/nuclear attack will trigger a response.Trilllions or even zillion s would not be able to prevent any PLA retaliation.

Archie 1954 is absolutely right when he says the US wants to be the world hegemon.
Remember the Roman and British empires collapsed under the financial strain.
The US $ is woth a third of its value since the 50s. If the Pentagon wants to maintain US military
supremacy ,sooner or later the US will be a banana/pineapple republic.
Then the other option is to start a war with who else but China.i

The US can be a threat to China but the latter must not be able retaliate if US forces attack. The US has been attacking defenceless countries who can only hit back on the battlefield.Although China is not a peer to the pentagon,it packs sufficient conventional and nuclear punch and that is what is bothering US policy makers.
Btw,I would recommend readers to read Use of nw in the Vietnam war by the Nautillus Institute.After reading this,you will surely understand why the PLA must build up its forces to deter any US attack not to initiate attacks like US forces.A greater worry is the US might use a disarming first strike to deprive the PLA of any means to retaliate.
THat I am afraid is a forlorn hope. IT would even spur the PLA to developing more deadly weapons to give more bang for the nw.This is the new reality facing US decision makers.Of course US forces can send China to the wooden /stoen/dark age but the destruction on US soil will be
kust as chilling.

In order to preserve its place in the hierarchy, the US must disavow the doctrine of “full spectrum dominance”. It must accept the role of first amongst equals. If it doesn’t, warmongering will continue until the World is embroiled in devastation that the Earth cannot endure. The US will be just another slag heap which in future centuries will be picked over by Chinese archaeologists looking for clues to the ancient dead civilization.

I agree China woman but that is why China is aligning with Russia; North Korea and Iran. The USA will never have a one front war ever again.The visions of this have been given to quite a few and it looks as though China will attack west while Russia blasts the east with nuclear missiles from submarines and poison gas dispensed from incoming missiles as well as enemy cells already here.